5 takeaways from the Blue Earth Summit & 55 inspiring Impacters you should connect with

Thanks to the Patagonia sponsorship, I had the immense privilege to join the Blue Earth Summit in Bristol last week.?

It was such a positively overwhelming event that it was hard to put everything on paper. But I will try it anyway.?

This sum up is especially for those who didn't have the chance to come because I wanted to bridge some of the insights, knowledge, and interesting impacters they should connect with.?

So let's go.?

5 takeaways from the Blue Earth Summit

1. Businesses start to notice nature?

I couldn't believe my eyes and ears when the event's first keynote immediately dove into how businesses must invest in nature's regeneration.?

And that was not as usual for a rewilder, ecologist, etc., on stage. It was Deborah Meaden — the original Dragon & business powerhouse.?

She shared that businesses have been asleep for the past decades, but in the last 2 years, they now wake up to the importance of nature.?

But they are overwhelmed. They don't understand many aspects of nature, lack in-house skills, and need clear instructions.?

But if we get this right, businesses can be the key to turning this mess around because they need to satisfy their customers & they are more agile than governments.?

2. We need more uncomfortable conversations

Verel Rodrigues sparked this brilliant workshop in which we had some pretty uncomfortable conversations about the climate, privileges, social injustices, etc.?

Most events would avoid such formats to keep everyone in this "fluffy everything is awesome" bubble. So I loved that they had the guts to go through with this.?

Verel shared brilliantly that we can't fix the climate crisis from our comfort zone. We need to have more uncomfortable conversations.

I tend to be a people pleaser, so my takeaway was to keep pushing and having uncomfortable discussions with you and my friends, family & co. I hope you will, too.?

3. Become a successful optimist?

In a morning session, I had the great privilege to see Mark Stevenson in action—one of the best public speakers I have ever seen.?

He shared with us what principles the most innovative and extraordinary people have in common. There is a recording from another event; you can find it?here.

Very briefly, here are the 8 principles:?

1. You need to have an ambition of a positive future. You need to dream.??
2. You engage with projects that are bigger than yourself
3. You are what you do, not what you intend to do?
4. Making mistakes is okay. Not trying at all is an irresponsible thing.
5. Engineer serendipity. Do random stuff to get your creativity through the roof.?
6. Think like an engineer, not a politician.?
7. Play the long game, aka lose a lot.?
8. Police your own cynicism & overcome it.

4. Put nature on your board

This session by pioneer Brontie Maria Ansell & Simeon Rose explored why and how we should put nature on the board.?

Why? Nature is often ignored as a stakeholder. Dedicating one spot on your board to nature will ensure that nature's interests are voiced and incorporated into your company, which will have ripple effects on the rest of your company.

How? Simeon writes about this in detail?here

• You can appoint a species but also nature as a whole
• It is not just one person but a rotating role
• You set up a legal architecture that works (that's where Brontie helps ;) ).?

I will sit down in the following weeks and figure this one out how, at an early-stage startup, we can implement this. Will let you know how it goes.?

5. You are not alone

If you care about the state of the world, you are not alone. This incredible event showed me how many people out there are working on inspiring solutions to tackle the most significant problems of our time.?

If you currently don't have like-minded people around you, go online and start reaching out to people. It is precisely how I started, too, and why I provide the most remarkable people I met below.?

This is such a vibrant and collaborative community, so join us!?

7 quotes that hit me hard at the event, but I didn't write down who said them.?

"I know that we can change the course, but I'm not sure if we will do it in time."

"You are not defined by what you own but by what you create."

"Children fall 20k before walking. Yet in a business world, you are punished to make 1 mistake."

"If I, without a research team, money, legal support, etc., can create a truly sustainable company, big companies have no excuse."

"Gaining B-Corp status cannot be the end of the journey. It is only a milestone on this journey."

"If we would value natural capital, the wealth of this world would shift from North to South."

"Impact investing should be just investing."

55 inspiring Impacters you should follow/connect with

I probably forgot someone, so if I did or you want me to add you, please comment below!?

I categorized everyone so it is easier for you to find your kind of people.?

?? Rewilding

Neil Melleney Nick Allport Tom Constable Rebecca Tregarthen Katja Toulouse Dinges

?? NGO

Bianca Richardson Kim Dunn

?? Nature & People

Dr. Pete Jeffs ??

?? Nature Tech

Cameron Dowd Oliver Bolton Lorenzo Curci

?? Ocean

Chloe O'Keeffe Suneha Jagannathan Sven Wille Hugo Tagholm Pete Kibel Ed Goodall

?? Systems thinking

Mark Stevenson Simeon Rose Andres Roberts John Elkington

?? Climate

Verel Rodrigues Elizabeth Corse

??? Tourism & Outdoors

Duncan Grossart Thomas Armitt Roz Savage MBE Belinda Kirk Maria del Palacio

?? Tech

Klaus Bravenboer

?? Media & Film

Ben Powell Lucie Machin Danielle Mulder ??John Brown

?? Mobility

Sarah Keegan

?? Mental Health

Bianca Peel ????????

???? ESG

?? Lou Dean aka Lulu La Loba ????

?? Events

Linley Lewis Charlotte Sewell ????? Lucy Keeling

?? Finance

Walid Al Saqqaf - Rebalance Earth Joshua Armistead-Wood Greg Robson Daniel Faundez Hannah King (Waters) Paul Edwards Simon Mantell OLY Elly Rowley

?? Fashion

Kresse Wesling CBE

???? Law

Alexandra Pimor ???? Brontie Maria Ansell

???? Heal

Kainyu (Kai) Njeri

?? Building

Kara de los Reyes

??? Pollution

Rob Hemsley

???????? HR

Mel Rodrigues Emily Bussey

To find even more nature impacters, check out the Biodiversity Builders Base. Full with great talents & nature venture that want to make the world wilder.

I will definitely come again next year!?

Thank you, everyone, that made this time so special, this trip was a huge game changer.?

P.S. If you were at the Blue Earth Summit, what was your #1 takeaway??

#sustainability #environment #blueearthsummit23 #event #impact